Combined envelope sealer and opener



1932- c. 'M. BOUDETTE COMBINED ENVELOPE SEALER AND.OPENER Filed July 28,1930 INVENTOR QM ammy UNITED STA Tris tridge; and.

Patented Nov. '1, 1932 PArE-Nr OFFICE". A

, cLnvron in. nonnnr'rn or nnvnnn, MASSACHUSETTS conrrnnn ENVELO SEALERAND OWNER Application filed .Tuly'2 8,

The invention to be hereinafter described relates .tola handenvelopeasealer whereby-the flap may be quickly and easily sealed to thebody of the envelope. f y This sealer iszof the type ern-ployingamoisteningnpad, and a Water reservoir for sup-v plying water to the padto. keep thesame H1 moist condition- The pad is slid under the flapalong the adhesive .covered margin thereof to moisten the same, anda-presser follows to'pressthe flap against the body to insure itsadhering thereto. I

One of the purposes of the invention is to provide a combined envelopesealer and opener, and to so construct andarra-nge the opener that itserves either as a :presser to press the moistened flap to the body ofthe envelope, .or as an opener for a sealed envelope. 1..

Another purposeof the invention is to provide a water reservoir in theform of a cartridge removably mounted uponthebase of thesealer, saidcartridge also serving asv the handle of the sealen. Another purpose isto provide atongue overlying the pad .andx'a l 23 formed by side flanges25, an end flange 27 presser and opener blade. which may be in the formof a single stamping. another purpose isto provide a constructionwhereby .a new pad may be quickly and easily subst tuted for anold'one.. The sealer as a- WhOlBilS simple in construction, cheap tomanufacture, and-the parts maybe'quickly and. easily assembled- Thecharacter of the invention will be best understoodby reference to thefollow-ingde scription of-one good formthereof shown in the accompanyingdrawing, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the sealer showing its relationto anenvelope in performing, the flap sealing operation;

Fig. 2is a View partly in elevation and partly in longitudinal sectionof thesealer;

Fig. 3. is a perspective view of'the car- 'Fig. at is a'- transversesection taken on line 4:4 of Fig. 1.

Referring tothe drawing, thesealer shown I therein as one goodembodiment of the inventiomcomprises a base 1 having a channel 3in: thefront portion thereof formed by an 1930. Serial No. 471,164.

upstanding inwardly curved flanged This channel has' the general form ofa finger, and is adapted to receive and hold a moistening pad 7 of feltor other suitable material. Pref-' erably the base of the finger iscurved somewhat transversely thereof to facilitate its introductionbeneath the envelope flap.

Overlyi-ng' part of the pad andextending somewhat-beyond the same is atongue 9 having a shank 11 with slots receiving tabs 13 projecting upfrom the base and bent over against the upper surface of the shank,-thereby to secure the tongue to the base; I

Projecting laterally from the tongue shank is a presser blade 15inclined ordipped downwarclf somewhat from the plane-of the tongue.Projecting up: from the end of the tongue shank is an inclined lip 17.To stiffen the tongue and presser blade, theymay haverespectivelylongitudinal ridges119 and 2'1 eX- 3 tending substantially the lengthsthereof. The tongue, blade and lip may-desirably be made'of asinglestamping, thereby contributing to economy in manufacture.

. The rearrportion of the base has a channel and the lip 17 referred to.Removably mounted in this channel is the water reserveir orlcartridge29, in the present instance in the form of .1 truncated prism having a'80 bevelled end 81. 'Theopposite end has-a filling hole threaded toreceive the stem of a cap 33;. Water is fed from the cartridge to thepad through small: ports-'35 in the bevelled endiof the cartridge.

'l o mount the cartridge on the base, its bevelled end isins'ertedbeneath the lip 17, and then the cartridge is pressed downbetween the side flanges 25' and theend' flange 27 of the channel 23'.Thelip' l9 and theend 9'0 flange 27 are resilient and tend to press to.-'ward each other, thereby to secure the cartridge between them.

. The pad has a portion 37 which lies between the lip and the bevelledend of the cartridge and covers the-ports 35; the constructionbeing'such that water will'be fed from the'cartrid'ge through the'portsto the padto keep the latter'in proper moist condition without supplyingan excess amount ofw-a-t'e-r thereto.

From time to time it will be desirable to substitute a new pad for anold one. This may be quickly and easily accomplished by removing thecartridge from the base, thereby exposing the portion of the pad beneaththe lip which may be grasped by the fingers to withdraw the pad. A newpad .may be quickly and easily inserted beneath the lip and slid intothe channel 3, where it will be retained by the inwardly curved flange5.

In use, the pad carrying finger will be inserted beneath the envelopeflap and slid along the same to moisten the gummed margin thereof. Thetongue 9 will ride over the outer surface of the flap so as to insureproper engagement of the flap with the pad. Downward pressure of thebase against the envelope will cause the blade 15 to press against themoistened flap. Due to the down ward tilting relation of the blade tothe tongue and the resilience of the blade, it will be energized toexert a desirable pressure on the flap, thereby insuring adhesiveengagement of the flap with the body of the envelope.

By this invention there is provided an efficient hand envelope sealerwhich is simple in construction and cheap to manufacture. As stated, thetongue, blade and lip may be in the form of a single stamping which maybe easily secured mechanically to the base bythe tabs entered throughthe slots in the tongue shank. The cartridge may be easily and cheaplymade of metal or bakelite, and it may be easily mounted on the basemerely by pressing it into its holding channel as described.

The presser and opener blade may be made of thin metal, but it issufficiently strong and flexible for the purposes due to its wide shankformed integrally with the tongue and its ridge extending longitudinallythereof. This blade tapers from its shank to a point and the body of theblade stands offset substantially from the tongue both laterally anddownwardly so that it may not only serve as a presser, but alsodesirably as an envelope opener.

It will be understood that the invention is not limited to the specificembodiment shown, and that various deviations may be made therefromwithout departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is: V

1. A hand envelope sealed comprising a base having channels therein, amoistening pad in one of the channels, a tongue overlying the pad, and acartridge for receiving water removably mounted in the other channel andhaving a port for feeding water to the pad.

2. A hand envelope sealer comprising a base having channels therein, amoistening pad in one of the channels, a cartridge for receiving waterremovably mounted on the other channel and having a port for. feedingcartridge for receiving water having a tapered end with a port therein,and atongue having a lip over said end, the pad having a portionbeneaththe lip covering the port.

5. A hand envelope sealer comprising a base having upstanding flanges, acartridge for receiving Water removablymounted on the base between theflanges, and a moistening pad on the base adapted to receive water fromthe cartridge.

6. A hand envelope sealer comprising a base, a moistening pad secured onthe base, a handle for receiving water and having provision for feedingwater to the pad, and a stamping secured to the base comprising a tongueoverlying the pad, a blade and an upstanding lip; and a cartridgeremovably mounted on the base and having a port for supplying water tothe pad, the latter having a portion beneath the lip overlying the port.

7. A hand envelope sealer comprising a base having channels therein, amoistening pad in one of said channels, a tongue overlying said channel,and a cartridge for receiving water removably mounted in the otherchannel and having a port for feeding water to the pad, said pad beingadapted to be withdrawn from its channel beneath the tongue afterremoval of the cartridge from its channel.

8. A hand envelope sealer comprising a base having channels therein, amoistening pad in one of the channels, a tongue overlying the channelhaving an upstanding lip at an end of the tongue, and a cartridge forreceiving water having a port at an endthereof for feeding water to aportion of the pad between the lip and the end of the cartridge, saidpad being removable by sliding the same from its channel beneath thetongue and lip after removal of the cartridge from its channel.

9. A hand envelope sealer and opener comprising a base, a moistening padon the base, a container for water and having provision for feedingwater to the pad, a tongue secured to the base, and a combined envelopepresser and opener blade having its body laterally spaced from thetongue.

10. A hand envelope sealer and opener comprising a base, a moisteningpad on the base, a container for water having provision for feedingwater to the pad, a tongue secured to the base, and a combined envelopepresser and opener comprising a blade having a wide shank projectingfrom the rear end of the tongue and a forwardly extening body spacedfrom the tongue and tapered from the shank toward its forward end.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

CLAYTON M. BOUDETTE;

